Rising digital ad costs push brands to rethink e-commerce growth strategy

Consumer brands are reworking their e-commerce marketing strategies as digital advertising becomes more expensive with diminishing incremental reach, prompting a shift away from scale-at-all-costs growth.

Instead of relying heavily on marketplace (Amazon, Flipkart, etc.) ads and aggressive discounting, small brands across categories such as food and personal care are now dispersing spends across platforms including their own websites, investing more in brand-building, and focusing on retaining customers.